Page 145 of Queen of War and Ruin

I noticed. Elrick wipes his hands on the apron tied around his waist as he crosses the courtyard, beaming at his sister. Lilias runs to him, and they embrace. His wife, Anura, glances at me with a decidedly cool expression on her face. I feel slightly ill. The last time I talked to that woman was here at the hunting lodge. When I threw an empty wine bottle at her feet because she said I love Lilias.

Wonderful. Elrick turns toward me. He’s smiling like he’s actually happy to see me, and there’s a streak of something white on his cheek. Flour? That’s absurd.

And then the prince of Marion throws his arms around me. I freeze, my back stiff as Elrick hugs me. He pulls back and pats my shoulder. The man is still beaming at me. And I think that really is a streak of flour on his face.

“Gods above,” Elrick says. “It’s good to see you, Zarek!”

Petrys makes a sharp, sudden sound like he’s choking. Elrick turns to him.

“And this is?” Elrick asks.

“Petrys,” I stammer. “My—friend. A friend. From Dungal.”

“Your Highness,” Petrys says, bowing low before Elrick.

Elrick laughs, then claps Petrys on the shoulder too.

“Welcome,” Elrick says. “Welcome, to both of you.”

I frown. Did the prince of Marion hit his head when he was escaping Ethiria? Has he somehow forgotten all the shit I pulled the last time I was here?

“Your generosity is much appreciated,” Petrys replies, formal and deferential.

Elrick laughs again. “Generosity? Hells. We’d all be prisoners of Vsenrog if it weren’t for Zarek,” he says, giving me another smile that makes me feel like I’ve slipped into some sort of upside down and backwards world. “Did he tell you what happened?”

Petrys smiles politely, waiting for the nobleman to continue. At least one person in my life is still acting normal.

“Well, there’ll be plenty of time for that,” Elrick says. “Come in, come in. Breakfast is almost ready, and I can’t wait to show it off. Anura’s been teaching me how to bake bread.”

I try to turn my gasp of shocked disbelief into a cough with mild success. Elrick grins at me like he knows what I’m thinking.

“Come on now,” Elrick says, with a grin. “Even a prince has to be good at something.”

Anura smiles as she hits him lightly on the arm, then tugs him toward the hunting lodge. I stand in the courtyard, frozen in place, as I watch them walk inside.

“Interesting in-laws,” Petrys finally says.

I exhale in a huff. “Come on,” I say. “Let’s get this over with.”

And we walk inside to see what kind of bread the ruler of Marion has made for breakfast.

Chapter 72

Lilias

THE ALLIED KINGDOMS

Elrick insisted we take a full day to recover from our journey, and so it’s only now, as the sun sinks over the mountains and the heat of the day begins to ebb, that we meet in the room at the top of the old hunting lodge. All the windows are open, letting in a soft breeze and murmurs from a dozen conversations in the courtyard below. The walls are lined with sleeping rolls; Elrick’s men-at-arms must still be staying here, in the room that once belonged to our father.

Elrick and Anura sit at the table, with Owain standing behind them. Gerard leans against the wall by the door, somehow looking even more exhausted than he did when we were escaping through the mountains. Petrys stands next to Zarek, ignoring Gerard with a prickly intensity that makes me feel like the two of them are about to come to blows. Or maybe to start kissing again.

Elrick clears his throat. “Please,” he says, “take a seat.”

There is a row of chairs in front of the desk. I take one, and so does Zarek. Petrys hesitates before taking a third chair. Elrick glances at Gerard, who shakes his head and stays right where he is.

“Lilias,” my brother says, meeting my gaze before turning to my husband, “Zarek. Petrys. We’ve received this. It came to the Council of Mayors, and they passed it on to our messenger.”

Elrick bends over the table and unfurls a roll of parchment. I recognize several of the seals, but I’m not close enough to decipher the script.